Di Matteo hails hard-fought win

Posted Thursday, February 04, 2010 by PA

West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo admitted his side were made to fight all the way for their 3-2 win over Coca-Cola Championship opponents Blackpool.

Albion edged a thrilling encounter at the seaside with Graham Dorrans lashing home the winning penalty with seven minutes to play.

Baggies manager Di Matteo said: "This was a really hard fought match. We have to dig in and fight for the points. Not many teams come here and go away with anything but I am delighted with my players' performance.

"We took our chances well and Roman Bednar did his job up front with two well-taken goals."

Keith Southern had given Blackpool the lead but two strikes from Roman Bednar gave the promotion hopefuls the lead.

Stephen Dobbie levelled after 80 minutes only for Dorrans to end the hosts' hopes from the spot.

Tangerines boss Ian Holloway was left angry about what he perceived to be a poor penalty call after Ishmael Miller went down with Andy Butler in attendance.

"I said before the game that our next two matches could be defining. It is a shame we had to lose this one on a referee's penalty decision," said Holloway. "My lads are shattered about that decision because they thought it was a fair tackle.

"However I thought we did well against a side I consider to be the best in the Championship. They have a class squad based on established Premiership players and we gave them a really good run for their money. They know that.

"We will have to see how the next couple of games go but my target for the season was always going to be 52 points and safety. That remains my target, anything else is a bonus."